Extended hours enhanced service requirements 2016/17

A summary of what is involved in the extended hours access ES for England.

Practice opening hours must be in line with patient preference (Picture: SPL)

This ES has not changed from 2016/17.

Purpose

For practices to provide appointments at times outside of core contracted hours to allow patients to attend appointments at a time when it is more convenient for them.

Applies

For a year from 1 April 2016. Practices must agree their extended hours arrangements with commissioners and begin providing this service by 1 July 2016.

Payment

£1.90 per patient. Paid in quarterly instalments on the last day of the quarter until 31 March 2017.

Requirements for 2016/17

Clinical sessions are provided outside of core contracted hours (8am-6.30pm for GMS practices and the hours set out in PMS contracts).

Opening hours must be in line with patient preferences either established through the GP patients survey, patient participation groups, the Friends and Family Test or other feedback.

The amount of extended access is the same as for this ES last year - 30 minutes per 1,000 registered patient using the following formula: additional minutes = a practice's CRP/1,000 x 30

Routine appointments must be provided in continuous periods of at least 30 minutes and in line with patient preferences, this can include face-to-face, telephone consultations, using other technology or a mix.

Extended hours access must be provided on a regular basis in full each week.

When a practice provides out-of-hours services it must not limit access to any of these clinical sessions to patients it would have been obliged to see under out of hours arrangements.

Practices can deliver the ES for their own practice or it can be offered as a group of practices.

NHS England will not pay PMS or APMS practices under this ES for any period of extended hours currently covered by the core hours in their contract.

The practice must cooperate with NHS England in reviewing its arrangements to ensure additional hours meet the needs of patients.

There should be arrangements for how NHS England will monitor performance and delivery of this service.

The practice should make patients aware of the availability of extended access.

Special clinics cannot be counted as extended access.

Practices should not use extended access sessions to deliver non-NHS work.

Further information

You can view the full guidance on this enhanced service here. This links to 2015/16 guidance, which is referred to in this year's contract documentation. Information related to coding also refers to the 2015/16 guidance.